


Unsteady

by PipTheShipper



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Unhappy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2016-05-01
Packaged: 2018-06-05 19:10:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6717808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PipTheShipper/pseuds/PipTheShipper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You lied to me."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unsteady

              “Sir, Captain Rogers is at the door,” JARVIS suddenly announced, making the engineer jump slightly. He had been so absorbed in his work that he hadn’t even noticed Steve approaching, and now he glanced over to see the Captain standing there outside the lab, scowling. His arms were folded across his massive chest, making him seem all the more intimidating. He still had dirt smudged on his cheeks from the latest battle, which was about two hours ago.

              They had been fighting these HYDRA pissants, and the suit had taken quite a beating. Tony still felt like his ribs were cracked based off of the way he couldn’t breathe without wanting to keel over, but he had to finish the suit repairs first. What if something else happened, and the team needed him, but the suit wasn’t ready? He couldn’t let them down.

              “What does he want?” Tony asked, fighting to keep the nervousness out of his voice. He turned so his back was facing Steve; he couldn’t take much more of the patented ‘Steve-Rogers-is-disappointed-in-you face.’

              “He has simply asked to speak with you,” JARVIS answered, and Tony snorted, flicking on his welding iron and raising it to the joint where the bicep met the shoulder on the suit.

              “And by ‘talk’ he means ‘yell at Tony.’ Think I’d rather avoid that, and you can tell him I said so,” Tony informed JARVIS very matter-of-factly. There was a pause.

              “He has threatened to break through the doors,” JARVIS informed him dryly, and Tony jerked upright.

              “What?!” he demanded.

              “I believe his exact words were ‘these doors are glass, and you can tell him I said so.’ It was a play on what you said earlier, sir,” JARVIS supplied helpfully.

              “Yeah, I got that,” Tony groused. “Go on, send him in.” The doors slid open, and Steve stormed in, looking royally pissed off. His hair was ruffled from the battle, and there was blood on his suit where he had gashed his arm.

              “What the hell are you doing?” Steve demanded, and Tony raised an eyebrow.

              “Repairing the suit,” he explained in a _duh_ voice. “That’s what the welding iron is for, smart one.” He raised the tool to emphasize his point, and with a smug smile, turned back to his work. “Besides, what are _you_ doing?”

              “Making sure you’re not dead,” Steve retorted. “Honestly, would it kill you to go to medical?”

              “Yes,” Tony replied immediately.

              “Now you’re just being dramatic,” Steve muttered.

              “Well, you know me,” Tony said with a shrug.

              “That was a rough battle, Tony. I saw you, you got hit pretty good. You need to go to medical, make sure there’s nothing wrong with you.”

              “Oh, trust me, Cap, there’s plenty wrong with me,” Tony joked with a smirk. “But I don’t need to go to medical. I’m fine. So you can go on and leave now.” He got back to working on the suit, expecting Steve to leave.

Instead, he heard a low growl, and when he turned back around, Steve was standing so close their noses were almost touching. Tony swallowed, his heart hammering at the close proximity. He could practically feel the electricity between them.

              “Tony, if I asked you to take off your shirt-” Steve began in a low voice, and Tony couldn’t help the giggle that escaped him.

              “I would tell you that I expect a man to buy me dinner first,” Tony interjected, narrowing his eyes in challenge. Steve growled again, looking impatient and frustrated.

              “You would say no because you know you’re not fine!” Steve looked about ready to snap, and Tony found that amusing, and he wanted to goad Steve further. He was self-destructive like that, and there were darker parts inside him that wanted to see just how far he could push Steve.

              “I am fine, Cap. Perfectly healthy,” he lied smoothly, and he wanted to go on and explain that he was Tony fucking Stark, and if he didn’t want to go to medical he didn’t have to, but he couldn’t get the words out.

              An excruciating cough rose up inside his chest, and he doubled over in pain. He coughed and coughed until it felt like his lungs and chest were going to explode, and he heard Steve’s panicked voice. When he opened his eyes, the ground was splattered with red. His blood. He was coughing up blood and he couldn’t stop. His last thought before he blacked out was: oh shit.

              +

              When Tony woke, it was to the rhythmic and familiar beep of the heart monitor. He opened his eyes, and peered around the hospital room. The smell of disinfectant invaded his nostrils, and he tried not to gag; the hospital scent made him want to throw up. Reminded him too much of his frequent visits as a child.

              He startled when he turned and found Steve sitting in the chair by his bed, his eyes bright and intense and staring directly at the engineer.

              “Hey, Cap,” Tony drawled, wincing as he shifted in the bed. “How’s it going?”

              “You lied to me,” Steve accused calmly. Tony blinked. He had been expecting something different than that.

              “Huh?”

              “You said you were fine,” Steve began, his voice wavering. “ _Healthy_. You said you didn’t need to go to medical, yet the entire left side of your body is purple. You cracked four ribs, and your lung was punctured. You had internal bleeding. You almost _died_. You _lied_ to me!” Tony frowned.

              “Okay, so maybe I lied a little bit,” he admitted. “But it wasn’t your business.”

              “Not my _business_?” Steve demanded. “Tony, I am the _leader_ of the team. Part of my job is making sure my team is safe and taken care of. You would have _died_ if I hadn’t been there!”

              “So?” The word slipped out before Tony had a chance to reel it back in. And boy, he wanted to, just because of the look on Steve’s face.

              “So?” Steve choked out, leaning back in his chair and running his hands over his face. He huffed out a laugh. “God, I thought you were a genius. But no, you’re a freaking idiot.”

              “Pardon?” Tony asked politely, raising an eyebrow.

              “I don’t know why I need to spell it out for you, but apparently I do,” Steve muttered, and he leaned forward and cupped Tony’s cheeks in his hands.

              “Whoa! What are you doing? Did personal space not exist in the forties, or-”

              “I love you, dumbass,” Steve blurted out, and Tony froze. “God, I love you so damn much. And I would be devastated if something happened to you, because I love you. And the next time you put yourself in the hospital because you’re so damn stubborn, I’ll be kicking your ass because I love you. I love you, okay?” Tony inhaled sharply, his eyes wide.

              “I’m pretty sure you just said ‘I love you’ five times,” Tony whispered. Steve smiled at him, stroking his cheek with his thumb.

              “And I meant it all five times, too,” Steve told him softly, before swooping down and capturing the engineer’s lips in a passionate kiss. He swiped his tongue along Tony’s lower lip, requesting entrance, and deepened the kiss. When Steve finally pulled away, Tony was breathless, with flushed cheeks and swollen lips.

              “I love you, too,” Tony breathed, and Steve smiled.

              “From now on, you’re going to medical. I can’t lose you, okay?” Steve’s voice wobbled slightly. “I can’t.”

              “You won’t,” Tony told him, threading his fingers through Steve’s blond hair. “You won’t, okay? I promise.”

              +

              Steve and Tony had three good years together. There was laughter, and tears, and misunderstandings, and so, so much cuddling. It was amazing, and Steve was in love, and he had never been happier. And then Tony got sick. It happened so fast. There were only two weeks in between the time Tony told him and when he died.

              The funeral was beautiful. Everyone came, even Pepper and Happy, who had moved away after their wedding two years earlier. Natasha spoke at the podium, and talked about how much Tony meant to her in detail, about how great of a man he was. Steve started crying, because Tony would have loved to hear all that.

              After the rest of them spoke, Steve was sobbing so hard he could barely stand. Somehow, he made it to the podium, and he managed to get a few words out. He talked about how much he loved Tony, and how they had never been happier in the time they had together. And then it ended.

              The team left, even though it must have killed them to do so. Steve stayed behind, and Natasha, too. She squeezed his shoulder gently, her green eyes red-rimmed from the tears she had let fall. Steve had never seen her cry, not before this.

              “Take your time, okay?” she said softly. “Say goodbye.” Steve could only nod, and then she was gone, too. He approached the coffin slowly. It was closed, because they had all wanted to remember Tony the way he was: smiling, happy, and so full of life. Steve brushed his fingers across the coffin, biting his lips to hold it together.

              “You lied to me,” Steve murmured. “You said I wouldn’t lose you. You lied, but I forgive you. It’s okay, sweetheart. It’s okay, baby. I love you. You tried, and I love you so, so much. I’m not going to move on, because I don’t want to. I never want to stop loving you. I never will. I love you, baby, I miss you. I wish you were still here. I love you.”

              Suddenly, Steve heard Tony’s voice as clear as if he was standing in front of him: “I’m pretty sure you just said ‘I love you’ five times.”

              “And I meant it all five times, too,” Steve said aloud, and that was when he truly broke down. “Goodbye, sweetheart. I’ll see you soon.”

              And then he left, leaving his heart with the dead man behind him.

             

**Author's Note:**

> So, what'd you think? Sorry about the ending, but I'm pretty evil :)


End file.
